Big plays fuel Sheridan

NEWTON TOWNSHIP - Touchdowns piled up as quickly as the rain fell on a soggy Friday night at the Maysville Athletic Complex.

Visiting Sheridan scored four touchdowns in a four-play stretch in the second quarter and rode an unrelenting defense to a 47-6 win against Maysville in a key Muskingum Valley League game for both teams.

Sheridan stayed unbeaten in league play at 4-0 and remained tied atop the standings with Philo and Tri-Valley. Maysville slipped to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in league play.

The Generals host the Electrics in Week 7, then travel to Tri-Valley in Week 8. The gauntlet has officially started for coach Paul Culver III's team, which is also in the thick of a competitive Division III Region 11 playoff race.

"We took most of the steps tonight that I felt we needed to take to prepare ourselves for the next two weeks in finishing our season and our goals," Culver said. "It was like, 'Hey guys, I need us to play at a 10 this week, so that next week our 10 is higher.' I saw that this week."

The Generals outgained the Panthers, 403-191, and scored 33 unanswered points in the second quarter to assume a 40-0 halftime lead. The entire second half was played with a running clock, per Ohio High School Athletic Association rules.

Sheridan's defense intercepted five passes, including three in the first half that led to touchdowns. Additionally, a front seven led by strong safety Lane Householder held the Panthers' wing-T to just 75 yards rushing in the first half.

Householder, all 5-9, 150 pounds of him, was the key player in shutting down perimeter runs, taking on running backs and blockers alike to turn plays inside. For good measure, he also made a diving interception at the Maysville 5-yard line that set up a Dylan Dupler touchdown run in the second quarter.

"They might get around him once or twice, but he's going to turn that around with tackles for loss," Culver said. "He just makes plays. ... Going in, any team will tell you, against a wing-T team the force player has to be good. And we flop sides because he's the best we have at that."

Householder knew he had a thankless job on Friday, one that wasn't always going to result in personal glory.

"I was just trying to take on as many blockers as I could, tried to turn them inside the best I could so the linebackers could make plays for me," Householder said. "There are bunch of guys coming out of the backfield and I had to take on as many as I could."

The Panthers punted three times, threw three interceptions and had a turnover on downs in the first half, many of which resulting in points for Sheridan.

Dupler passed for 120 yards in the game and ran for touchdowns of 57 and 10 yards in the second quarter. Leading just 7-0 at the start of the second quarter, Justyn Bobo darted through the Panther interior untouched for a 43-yard scoring jaunt to start the quarter.

The Generals' next three plays from scrimmage resulted in scores — Dupler's two TD runs and his 47-yard deep ball to speedster Ethan Tabor, who returned from injury after missing last week.

Jarrett Munyan's 19-yard scoring run up the middle, when he hurdled a Panther defender, made it 40-0 with 1:18 left until halftime. Luke Ridenour's 9-yard TD run in the third quarter made it 47-0.

In all, Sheridan ran for 276 yards on 26 carries and had 13 plays of 10 yards or more.

Householder likes where the team is headed.

"I'm really excited," Householder said. "I just hope we get the wins the next two weeks."

sblackbu@gannett.com

740-450-6723

Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR